Maplewood Mayor Nikylan Knapper, on her Facebook page, Nikylan Knapper, Maplewood Mayor, has posted a letter to Maplewood residents about how she and the city council are going about hiring the city’s next city manager. She says the letter will be part of the meeting packet for the City Council Work Session, scheduled for December 12 at 5:15 p.m.
In the letter—below—Knapper says she knows there are questions, but that she and the council can only answer questions that they are legally permitted to. Her timeline, like council member Matt Corriell’s, has no mention of Michael Reese leaving the city. He was city manager from August 9, 2021 to September 30, 2023.
Thank you, Doug, and thank you, Mayor Knapper.
From the start, Ms. Knapper wanted to run the whole show. She second guessed every action or decision made by Mr. Reece. Is it any wonder he had enough after two years? What’s worse than a politician? A lawyer. And Knapper is both.
The idea that there are only 2 options for hiring a city manager, which are nominating your unqualified friends OR spending tens of thousands of dollars on a nation-wide search is beyond any reasonable explanation. They didn’t even post the job on the city’s own website. What were they afraid of – getting candidates who were more qualified than their friends? This is a joke and to try to pass off their process as rigorous is an insult.
While very little is said in this too long letter, what is very clear is that the first paragraph confirms that the mayor and council are legally bound from discussing the ex-city manager’s departure. She tries to conflate the new hiring with the exit of the previous one as general “personnel issues” but they are very different discussions with very different legal requirements to discuss. But I’d bet it’s pretty rare (particularly in small government) to pay someone $130k to go away quietly because *they* did something wrong. More like this mayor/council probably have a vested interest to keep the contents of any legal agreements to themselves.
And finally, while it technically might be called a council-manager form of government, you know what it is most commonly referred to? A City Manager form of government, as is stated on the Maplewood City website. And how do I know the City Manager is the most important position in the city government? Because the Mayor is a part time job serving on the council as the ceremonial head of city for well less than $10K/year and the requirements are that you have to be good at campaigning/telling people what they want to hear. And the City Manager is a full time job that SHOULD require 10+ years of RELEVANT professional experience and makes $160K+ a year.
I’d bet money they are going to push through the appointment of the mayor’s friend regardless of any community outcry. This mayor and most of this council do not care what people in Maplewood want or deserve (namely a city manager with actual experience to lead this city). And if I were council members from Wards 1, 2, and 3, I’d pay special attention to that second to last paragraph because in case you don’t realize it, you are currently being thrown under the bus. And no amount of abstaining from the mayor will make anyone think that she didn’t have a heavy hand in making this happen. This choice will be yet another in a long line of this council rubber stamping whatever the mayor wants while conducting all business behind the scenes contrary to their duty as public servants.
It’s not “tens of thousands” it’s up to $10,000 or so for a search of this type. It’s a nationwide best practice and it’s what most successful cities do if they don’t have a few strong internal candidates. $10k to hire a $175k executive position that runs your city is a pittance.
Why did the former (and highly qualified) city manager resign with a $131k payout? Neither the mayor nor any council members have touched this extremely important question. They’re claiming to be concerned about saving $10-20k on a job search but complete ignore a 6-figure payout under highly dubious circumstances? And if an offer is being extended to another (and far less qualified) candidate, what are the contract terms? Will the city be on the hook for another payout when the next mayor and council have to clean up a mess?
Severance packages are part of the employment agreement. It’s likely that it was a stipulation in the employment contract and it is standard practice for a City Manager to have one…but nearly a full year’s salary is not as normal. A few months maybe.